Music

This is, ugh, this is a ‘groovy’ record, much like Daft Punk’s latest, full of jangles and cute little piano lines. Yes, saccharine synth-pop is a little played out, but the La Roux of 2009 was menacing; this is, well, pleasant.

“To be us it takes leaps of faith,” so says Ishmael Butler, on Shabazz Palaces’ new album Lese Majesty. I’d agree. It takes a leap of faith to release a hip-hop album this progressive when so many seem content to rest in the commercial shallows or regress into ‘90s nostalgia.

The Grace Jones story is one marked by freneticism. After settling in New York by way of Jamaica and a brief stint in Paris, she pursued at once a modelling career, acting career and music career, proving herself appallingly adept at all three.

Tom’s Lunch shows impressive versatility and experimentation from a group that is a bastion of contemporary New Zealand music. But within the global spectrum of experimental soft rock, this EP is disappointing.

Lily Allen meant a lot to me in my teen years. I loved her so much that I once serenaded an ex-boyfriend with ‘Not Fair’ on a table at a crowded party. Feminism may not be all about hating men, but Allen damn well did it anyway.